Shielding design for a Cs-137 rod-type standard point source for well chamber constancy checks

Abstract

Well type chambers are used for radioactive source calibrations in brachytherapy, but do not provide radiation shielding. Routine constancy checks on a well chamber are required between periodic secondary standard laboratory calibrations to ensure consistent device performance, and ultimately to ensure accurate patient dose delivery. In this work, a method is described to provide suitable shielding for a Cs-137 rod-type point source to enable use for constancy checks. A novel plunger-type shielded housing was designed and constructed for the Cs-137 source that when combined with a suitably shielded well-chamber container minimised user exposure during constancy checks. The designed shielding proved effective, and a constancy test routine was established and used for the past 16 months. The well chamber showed consistent performance (0.12 ± 0.18 % from the baseline) and no increased exposure was reported on users' radiation badges.